Remnant Land
by XenonRaumzeit
Summary: While Ruby is looking for a gift for Weiss, she comes across a strange mirror that plunges her into an adventure weirder than anything she could have imagined.
1. The Mirror

Ruby wandered out of the bakery absolutely delighted. She had been constantly hearing about this new pastry shop from friends and online reviews for weeks now, but this was the first time she had been able to make her way here. With their upcoming mission starting on Monday, a week before the rest of the second year missions, Team RWBY had to scramble to get their school work done in advance.

Typically second year teams ran several missions, with their final one taking place a week before the first year missions as to not pull too many students away from their classes and duties at once. They were scheduled to finish before the annual dance instead of starting afterwards like the first years did. For their final mission they were being deployed to an outlying village that had seen a huge spike in grimm activity. Swarms of monsters left over from Cinder's attack almost a year ago still wandered the countryside, and many of school assigned missions was to destroy them before they could wipe out settlements. Ruby had wanted to stock up on her cookie supply just in case there was no reliable bakeries in the village.

With her hood up and box of cookies held securely under one arm, Ruby took a peek at her scroll. 4:45, only time for one more stop. Pulling up the list of antique shop she had looked up before she left her teammates studying back at the dorm. Checking the addresses, she homed in on the nearest shop.

It was a beautiful spring day out, so the young leader of team RWBY didn't mind walking about. The evening sunlight was bright, though a chill was starting to creep into the breeze. She shuddered and drew her cloak around herself a little more tightly. Despite the sunshine, she hoped she would be done soon and be able to make it back to the school by nightfall. Though, she had some extra things to take care of before she returned to the dorm itself.

Keeping herself entertained on the short walk by humming cheerfully to herself, the cloaked girl started to space out. Ruby had been wanting to ask Weiss to the dance for sometime now. Wracking her brain for ideas was almost worthless and inevitably gave her a headache. How could you impress a girl that could get anything she wanted with a snap of her fingers?

The only thing she could really think of was a vague memory of Weiss' old necklace. A small, silver apple pendant the heiress had worn night and day. The look of despair on Weiss' face when it had been destroyed by an ursa while on a mission still brought tears to her eyes. Weiss had said it was the last gift she had ever received from her Grandmother. Ruby could only imagine how upset she would be if something happened to the cloak she was wearing, the last thing her mom had ever given her.

Weiss had mentioned that they weren't made anymore, so Ruby figured the her only hope was an antique shop. If she could only find one and present it to the heiress, it would hopefully put the snow-haired girl in an amiable enough mood to say yes. Passing by a costume shop, she peeked in the window spying a dog eared headband. She smirked to herself. Weiss loved puppies, maybe she could help tip the odds in her favor a little more.

Torn out of her thoughts by a rather rude piece of extruding sidewalk, Ruby tripped rather ungracefully. As she fell she had to quickly decide between protecting her face or the cookies. Flailing about in indecision, the cloaked girl squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the pain. It took a couple seconds to realize she wasn't falling anymore, instead there was an uncomfortable tightness around her neck.

Slowly gathering her feet under herself again, she unclipped the cloak strangling her and put the box of cookies down. Turning around, the sight of what saved her caused the young girl to giggle. Dangling from a sign jutting out of a shop wall by the very tip of the hood, was her beloved cloak.

She was happy that none of her teammates, especially not Weiss, were around to witness her spectacular moment of klutziness. There would have been no end to the teasing from Yang and Blake, and unceasing lecture from her partner. Even though she had grown up with Yang, she still wasn't used to her sister's teasing. And Weiss' lectures were as strict as ever, though recently there had been a shift in her tone. She seemed less exasperated and more… caring.

Retrieving her cloak and clipping it over her shoulders again, she checked the sign she he had been caught on. ' _Deja New Antique Shop?'_ Ruby groaned. It definitely was a good thing Yang wasn't there. Though it did leave the black and red haired girl a little confused. She couldn't recall the shop name coming up in her search. Maybe it was new, or poorly reviewed.

Looking at her scroll again, she checked the time. Only 4:58, less than 15 minutes had passed since she left the bakery. As she moved to put it away, the device vibrated. Looking at the sender's name and message, Ruby smiled. Weiss was checking in on her. Typing back that she was still out and about in Vale, but would be headed straight to the library afterwards instead of the room. She added a second message that she would probably not be back until after they fell asleep, so they shouldn't worry about her.

Placing the phone back in her satchel, she picked up the cookies and stepped into the shop. Despite the clean exterior, the inside of the shop was dusty and cluttered, as though no one had been there in some time. The front of the shop had piles of junk Ruby could only assume were antiques. Dozens of old books lined shelves on one side of the shop, while worn down armoires occupied the other. Everything, included the sales counter, were covered with a thick layer of dust.

"Hello?" Ruby called out tentatively. "Helloooo?"

No response. Spying a door in the back corner, she made her way to it trying to avoid knocking anything over. Pushing the door open slightly, she poked her head into the dark room and tried to call out again. Instead she ended up with a noseful of dust.

Achoo! The red clad girl sneezed violently, and cracked her head on the doorframe. "Owwiee."

She instinctively pulled her hood up over her short black and red hair to hide her shame, before realizing that once again, there was no one around to witness her klutziness. Unless there was someone hiding in the back room.

Poking her head back through the doorway she called out. "Hello? Is anybody in here?" She briefly paused. "Nobody? OK."

Ruby reached out to the side of the door. After grasping around for a couple of seconds, Ruby found what she was looking for. Flicking the switch, she winced as a harsh light flooded the room.

Looking about, Ruby realized she was standing a room that was completely barren except for a lone mirror. Like everything else she had seen in the building, it was covered with dust and the glass was smeared and smudged, making it almost impossible to see anything clearly. Still, there was something alluring about the mirror. It was as if it radiated a power of some kind.

Curiosity easily overruling her hesitation, she approached the mirror, trying to peer through the grime, as if there was something lying behind it. She tried to make out her features, but everything looked distorted in a way she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Trying to make sense of it, Ruby reached out to clean the glass, closing the final gap between her and the mirror. When her fingertips grazed the cold, smooth glass a bolt of energy raced through her. Letting out a small gasp, the hooded girl slumped to the ground unconscious.

* * *

' _Ungh.'_ Ruby let out a groan as her eyes fluttered open. "What happened?"

The last thing she could remember was touching a mirror, then waking up on the floor. She could barely see without squinting. For some reason it was incredibly bright in the room. Was it daytime already? Had she slept through the entire night? She had to make it back before she was reported as AWOL. Checking the time, it was still only 23:24, still before midnight. If she could get back quickly, she could avoid discipline.

Realizing the harsh light was coming from a single fixture located in the middle of the ceiling, she turned away and slowly pulled herself off the ground. Flipping the hood of her tattered cloak up to help obscure her face she stepped out of the store onto the street. Hopefully none of the patrols would recognize her.

She shuddered in the cold wind. The temperature must have dropped quickly after the sun set. Trying to avoid the street lamps, the cloaked girl darted quickly up the empty street. She had to get back as quickly as possible. Everything was around her was quiet, almost a little too quiet. While there were several people out and about, which was incredibly odd for it being so close to curfew, there were no guard patrols.

Making it to the port just in time to grab the last airship to Beacon she flopped into the first seat she saw. It was a short ride, and she entertained herself by playing with her cloak. She pulled at how uncomfortable the hood was, it was too constricting. Maybe someday she would modify it so it wouldn't smash her ears down against her head. The cloak was the last thing her uncle had ever given her, and she didn't want to accidentally damage it anymore than battle did.

A few minutes later she stood in front of the dorm, perplexed by her method of entry. There seems to have been a new locking mechanism installed that her key didn't work on. Not wanting to wake up her teammates or, she grinned to herself, Weiss unnecessarily by knocking. Before coming up with anything creative, she tried the handle first.

' _Aha!_ ' Of course her teammates would forget to lock it when she wasn't around to remind them. Quietly slipping into the room, she pulled off her hood so she could hear better. The quiet sounds of three sleeping individuals reached her ears. Perfect.

First order of business was a shower. While it hadn't been a terribly warm day, she still felt gross from the combination of running around the city and passing out on the shop floor. She made a beeline for RWBY's washrooms. A chance to unwind from the day would be greatly appreciated.

Making the decision to draw a bath instead may have been her greatest idea in her short 18 years of living. Slowly unwinding in the soothing water, she had to fight of the urge to fall asleep in the tub. Still, it was a nice reprieve from the constant ready status her team has been on for the last 6 months. Thoroughly cleansed and relaxed, the leader hummed to herself while drying off. She paid special attention to her almost waist-length hair, ears, and fluffy tail. After all, who wants a wet bed?

Passing back into the sleeping area she noted that all three girls were still fast asleep. Silently slinking over to her dresser, she pulled out the first pair of PJs she could find.

' _How did this get in here?'_ She wondered to herself as she held one of Weiss' light blue night gowns if front of her. Smirking, she slipped it on. It was a little short and tight for her, as the heiress was a good half-a-foot shorter than she was, but it still managed to cover everything. Besides, it would be a nice surprise for the heiress in the morning.

Slipping under the covers of the bottom bunk, she snuggled up to Weiss. After not seeing her for the whole day, to spend some time with the white-haired girl was nice, even if she was asleep. Ruby kissed the girl on the back of head and murmured a soft goodnight before slowly being lulled to sleep by Weiss' soft breathing.

* * *

 **Ah, fun things are happening to Ruby. Something tells me Weiss won't be too happy the next morning though. Yes, there are inconsistencies, and they are deliberate.**


	2. Enter, Rose

Ruby had a habit of being the first to awaken every morning, ready for the next day. And this morning was no different even though she had been the last to bed the previous night. Taking advantage of the early morning quiet, she burrowed her face into the soft, white hair of the girl sleeping in her arms.

Inhaling deeply, she savored the scents of vanilla that perpetually surrounded her bed mate. She and Weiss didn't get to spend much time together like this, so Ruby took advantage of any opportunity she could. Unfortunately, like every morning, the moment would not last for long.

As Weiss began to stir in her arms, Ruby knew she would need to greet the day soon. But, there were a few minutes left. She smiled to herself as Weiss yawned cutely and spun around so they were now face to face. The heiress looked so at peace when asleep, as though she didn't have a care in the world.

"Good morning, Snow Angel." Ruby whispered softly and kissed her partner on the forehead.

The girl's brilliant blue eyes flashed open, catching Ruby in her entrancing gaze. The leader smiled in return. This was one of her favorite parts of waking up, being able to snuggle and stare into each other's' eyes.

"R-Ruby?" Weiss stuttered.

"Yes, beautiful?" The red and black haired girl replied as seductively as possible.

Next thing she knew, she was hitting the ground, completely tangled in the sheets and blanket she dragged off with her.

"What the hell were you doing in my bed?!" Weiss screeched, sitting straight up after shoving Ruby off the bed. Ruby managed to tuck her ears down, avoiding the pain from such a loud sound. Groans came from the far side of the room as Blake and Yang's sleep was disturbed.

"First, that's my bed." Ruby shot back, desperately trying to untangle herself from the bedding. "And second, this is no way to treat your girlfriend."

Weiss froze. The voice was Ruby's but carried different qualities from the girl's normal voice. Less childish, less high pitched, and carried an edge of hardness and command.

Sputtering came from the opposite side of the room. Blake, now completely awake from the commotion, was frozen in a wide eye expression. Yang, on the other hand, was now sitting straight up from her usual position on Blake's bed.

"Girlfriend?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Did you forget, Princess? You make me feel so loved." Ruby quipped. "Agh! Can someone help untangle me?!" The leader's voice started to show frustration as she continued. "Weiss? Blake? Lil' Sis? Anyone?"

"Yeah, I'm done with your jokes, Ruby Rose." Weiss stomped off towards the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower, then you have a lot of explaining to do."

As the door closed, Ruby stopped struggling. Why was Weiss acting so cold? It wasn't like her at all.

"Lil' Sis, huh?" Yang muttered to herself, barely loud enough for even Blake to hear. Recovering from the early morning excitement, she spoke louder as she inquired to the trapped girl. "Weiss does have a good point. You certainly are acting odd right now. Did you hit your head last night?"

"Can you just help me?" Ruby demanded, frustration continuing to leak into her tone.

"That's no way to talk to your big sis, Rubes." Yang rolled off Blake's bed and made her way over to where ruby lay on the ground. "Hold still." She kneeled and managed to loosen the sheets enough for the leader to free herself.

"Big sis?!" Ruby finally managed to pull the sheets off her head and torso. "Why is everyone acting so odd?"

When she received no response she decided to crawl back onto the bed. If everyone was going to act weird, she was going to lay in bed until everyone was ready for breakfast.

"Uh… Sis?" Yang managed to spit out. Unknown to the leader, both Yang and Blake were staring at her wide-eyed.

"Yes, Yang?" Ruby flopped face first into the pillow.

"Why do you… uh…" The blonde stumbled over her words, not quite knowing how to phrase such a delicate question.

"When did you become a faunus?" Blake spoke for the first time in the morning, notes of curiosity creeping into her typical monotone.

* * *

Weiss stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Ruby's antics this morning had pushed her over the edge. And to think, she was having such a lovely dream. Flipping the shower to her customary cold setting, she quickly disrobed and hopped in. Between how she threw Ruby out of bed, and the freezing water she habitually bathed in, she definitely was deserving of her Ice Queen moniker.

As the ice cold water poured over her the heiress tried to puzzle out what exactly happened. She had gone to bed alone. Ruby had not even returned to the dorm by the time she had fallen asleep and it was unlike her leader to even touch her bed without asking for permission first. The only times she had ever shared with the younger girl was the occasional spat of nightmares Ruby suffered from. Even so, that had been a more recent development.

Ever since Blake and Yang had started openly dating, and sharing a bed, Weiss had started to take over for some the brawler's duties for their young leader. Offering Ruby comfort after a nightmare, occurrences of which had increased in intensity and frequency since Cinder's attack on Beacon, was just one of them. Though Weiss doubted that was the reason the dark-haired girl had been in her bed; Ruby alway woke her and asked, rather cutely at times, if she could sleep in her bed for the rest of the night.

The girl may be childish and overactive, but pranks could be ruled out. Practical jokes were not Ruby's style. She was too socially awkward to even think of pulling something like this off. So why was she in Weiss' bed, and more importantly, how did the heiress feel about it?

Ruby had been an enigma to her. Always cheerful and trying to be friends despite their rough start. Even though Weiss had not known it at the time, becoming partners with the younger girl had been one of the best things that had ever happened to her. Now the heiress had friends and people she cared about for the first time in her life. None more so than her cloak wearing partner. Everything changed during Cinder's attack during the Vytal festival. Yang had lost her arm, Blake disappeared, Weiss herself had been forced to return to Atlas, and Ruby, along with Pyrrha, had been gravely injured atop Beacon Tower. The two red-clad girls had been saved by a last second rescue from Qrow, Glynda, and Ironwood.

In the aftermath, everything had seemed hopeless. At first at least. But things eventually showed progress. Cinder disappeared without a trace after acquiring the other half of the Fall Maiden powers, along with the giant dragon grimm. Beacon was repaired and reopened just in time for the new semester; the need for new hunters was even more imperative. The injured girls eventually recovered, albeit with new scars and a new mechanical arm for Yang.

The arm itself was a gift from Ironwood. The prosthetic skin was virtually indistinguishable from real flesh, even to the touch. Though when the brawler went into battle she typically removed the 'skin', claiming it was expensive to replace. The rest of the team had their suspicions that she just preferred the look.

Blake had returned a few days before the start of the new school year; apologizing profusely to Yang and promising never to run again, as long as the blonde let her stay by the blonde's side. Weiss, like Blake, had also struggled with her personal feelings. Being removed from Ruby had been painful for reasons Weiss didn't quite understand.

At first, the heiress thought it was guilt. She had allowed her teammate to climb Beacon Tower by herself instead of accompanying the girl. Like Blake, she felt personally responsible for her partner's grievous injuries. When she realized it wasn't just guilt; there was something else. Weiss' next idea was the lack of proximity to her first and best friend. Escaping her father and returning to Beacon had significantly calmed her anxiety. With school starting up again, memories of her previous feeling were shoved to the back of her mind. It wasn't until Blake and Yang's budding relationship moved into the open that the feelings of longing she felt back in Atlas were once again were rekindled in her heart.

Over the last few months, Weiss had spent a majority of her free time trying to puzzle out her feeling for her partner. Eventually, the heiress decided to take a somewhat passive approach. She became even friendlier towards her leader and allowed herself to get closer to the younger girl.

If Ruby's actions in her bed were any indication, the girl harbored romantic feelings towards her as well. Though the abruptness was quite startling, Weiss secretly enjoyed the few nights she didn't wake up alone. This morning was particularly pleasant. She had awoken from her dreams of rose petals to those warm silver eyes. While Ruby may have been getting a little too friendly, lashing out like she did was a snap reaction she deeply regretted. She needed to apologize to Ruby when she was finished.

A loud bang of someone pounding on the door started the heiress, almost causing her to slip. Cursing loudly, she clutched her chest in fright. "What do you want?!"

"Hurry up!" Yang's voice came through the door. "Ruby's getting hungry. We're going to leave without you!"

"Five minutes!" Weiss yelled back. Quieting her shout to a soft mutter she added to herself. "No patience from these barbarians."

Getting in one last rinse, she stepped out of the shower and toweled off. After dressing all that was left was dealing with her waist length hair. A towel or a hair dryer would take too long. A sly smile graced her face as she found her solution and way to get revenge on Yang for scaring her. After all, the brawler's aura did have a helpful side effect.

* * *

The bathroom door swung open to reveal a freshly cleaned and dressed heiress. As she entered the room she took note that only Yang and Blake, both dressed in their traditional garb, were present. Her bed invading leader was suspiciously missing.

"Where's Ruby?" The white haired girl inquired of the other two. "I hope that dolt didn't leave to breakfast already. I have words for her after her shenanigans this morning."

"Nope." Yang replied popping the 'p'. "Wait... Did you just say 'shenanigan'?" Yang's mouth hung open at Weiss' unusual usage of normal human slang.

"Nevermind her. She's just excited." Blake picked up where Yang had left off. "Ruby is just outside waiting for Yang to call her back in."

"Ruby! Get your butt back in here!" The brawler yelled out keeping her eager eyes fixed on Weiss. "Time to knock the Ice Queen's frosty socks off!"

Yang's unwavering gaze was starting to unsettle the heiress. What kind of reaction was the blonde expecting from her? Typically Yang was too protective of her younger sister to allow her to walk straight into a Schnee lecture.

Yang's smile only increased as the door clicked open. Even Blake seemed uncharacteristically curious to Weiss' reaction. Finally, determined to figure out what was going on, the heiress turned towards the door.

"Ruby you have a lot of…"Weiss' stern tone vanished into confusion as her eye fell on the girl walking through the door. "Explaining… to…. do…."

Weiss couldn't understand what she was seeing. It was Ruby, yet not. The girl looked older, as though she was the proper age for a second year, and almost identical in height and proportion to her sister. But the largest difference she noticed was the pair of black and red wolf ears and red tipped wolf's tail swishing happily behind the girl.

"But… how… I mean…" The heiress resumed her sputtering as her mind raced to process the visual information; she could feel a blush start to form on her cheeks.

As she continued to stare, she noticed even more differences. The girl's face was much leaner than the Ruby she knew and was marred by three large diagonal scars reaching from her right temple to her left jaw. Gone was the short tomboyish hair; replaced with almost waist length locks of black and red.

Her outfit differed as well. While she still wore a combat skirt and boots, the skirt was less puffy and she no longer wore tights under it, showing off ample amounts of leg. Instead of a corset, her upper torso was covered by a tight fitting halter top, leaving her stomach and lower back exposed. Completely sleeveless, except for a pair of fingerless gloves. Finally, a cloak, different from her typical, rested on her back split halfway up the middle allowed free motion of her tail. Like her face, much of the girl's exposed skin showed scarring, as though she was overly reckless in battle.

It was all too much for the snowy girl to take. She felt the blush on her cheeks start to spread to the rest of her face as well. The look on her face was noticed by the faunus in front of her.

"I'm guessing you have questions." Ruby's voice snapped Weiss out of her trance. Like her appearance, it was Ruby, but not. Harder, more commanding, and a little lower in pitch. The girl's voice had an odd effect on Weiss. The continued look of stupefaction on the heiress' face pushed Yang into action.

"Long story short, Rubes here is another Ruby that is similar to ours but from another place called Unity. She touched a mirror with a wonky reflection of herself and woke up here. Unlike here, Faunus are the dominant species in Unity. This Ruby is a captain in the Unity military and also being trained to be a huntress," The blonde was speaking rapidly, barely pausing to take a breath in her excitement. "She is also my older sister there… Which, how does that work if we are both 18?"

"Humans are not thought of very highly in Unity, and even less in the Mantle Alliance. Your mother wanted a faunus child, so they wouldn't struggle the same way she did. Unable to go through state-run clinics, she turned to one of her old teammates, our father, for a donation. You were conceived artificially in Bastion, the human country, around the same time as my mother got pregnant." Ruby explained. "Unfortunately, your mother died in childbirth. Her brother helped my parents raise the both of us until he was killed by Atlesian anti-human forces who claimed he was a member of the Iron Fist. That's where I got my cloak. Since we were only a few weeks apart, Summer raised us like we were twins."

"You mean Mom's still alive?!" Yang shouted in surprise. "Can I see her some time… If that's possible." She mumbled out the last part so softly only Blake heard it.

"I would assume so, if you were permitted to travel to Unity, that is." The dark-haired girl replied. "I take it by your reaction that she isn't alive here."

"No…" The brawler looked slightly morose. Ruby's tail seemed to droop in response but the blonde powered through it and turned back to the heiress. "Oh, and the best part is, you and Ruby are dating, Weiss!"

"What?!" The heiress finally managed a response.

"You and sexy Rubes here have been shacking up for…" The blonde glanced at her sister. "How long now?"

"8 months." Ruby gritted out, flattening her ears. "And don't call me that."

"Sexy?"

"No, Rubes. But that's weird too."

"You said a mirror?" Weiss inquired.

"Yup." Ruby's ears perked up once Weiss began speaking to her.

"And we're dating?"

"Also yup." Ruby grinned at that one, her tail began eagerly swishing back and forth again.

The conversation was interrupted by a loud grumbling from the stomach of their resident cat faunus. Blake looked up sheepishly.

"I think I'm hungry."

"Breakfast it is!" Yang declared. "Then to Ozpin?"

Blake grabbed her girlfriend before the blonde could go running off in search of food. "You know, we should probably come up with an alibi for other Ruby here. I think presenting her as another person would probably be a good idea. We wouldn't want to cause a stir."

"That would be prudent." Ruby stated thoughtfully. "Any ideas?"

Yang threw her arm around her sister's shoulder. "We can be cousins. No one besides Ozpin would know that Mom didn't have a sibling, so you can be her niece. You can still go by Rose, as a first name of course. We just need a last name for you." The brawler smirked. "How about Mary?"

The other three groaned at Yang's pun.

"Some things never change." Ruby grumbled, ears twitching. "I'd rather keep my last name as Rose anyways.

"How about Amaranth then?" Offered Blake, her bow wiggling eagerly.

"Amaranth? Don't tell me that is a character from one of your 'Ninjas of Love' books." Yang elbowed her partner, eliciting a small gasp from the excited girl.

"No!" Blake exclaimed. "What I mean is, The Rose and the Amaranth is an old fable. The rose only blooms briefly, but the amaranth lasts eternal."

"You're so cute when you get poetic!" Yang picked the cat faunus up in a giant hug.

"Well, it's better than nothing." Ruby acquiesced. "Unless you have anything better, Weiss?"

The previously quiet heiress looked up in surprise at the question, as though she hadn't been paying attention.

"Uh, sure. Sounds good. Hey, I have to uh…" The blue eyed girl glanced around. "Dry my hair. I'll catch up to you guys in the cafeteria."

"You heard the lady. Let's go before Blake decides to eat one of us!" Yang pulled the other two out of the dormitory before they could ask any more questions.

* * *

 **What could Weiss be planning? Hopefully she doesn't miss breakfast!  
Thanks to Nekoyaneko for inspiring her Pseudonym.**

 **Like I mentioned before, this is a slightly modified version of the old chapter two as I have changed the story plan a little bit. Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. The One Called Amaranth

While the trip to the cafeteria was short, it did give Rose an opportunity to gather more information about this new world she found herself in. While she was eager to get back, she realized she had no idea how long she would be trapped here. Therefore, she needed to know as much as she could so she wouldn't cause too much trouble for the other Ruby, when she finally returned.

"I assume I can say that Weiss and I are not dating in your… reality?" Rose looked over to her 'sister' walking right next to her.

"Nope!" Yang responded enthusiastically, popping the 'p'. "But everyone but you... other you, and Weiss can tell you two are totally into each other. Other you is always doing all sorts of cute things for her, and we all know she secretly spoils you. It's really a matter of time."

Rose chuckled a bit. "That reminds me of the two of you."

"What do ya mean?" The blonde shot Rose a curious look.

"You two are so into each other it's painful to watch. Though, my Blake thinks it's impossible for a human and faunus to have a relationship, and my sister is too kind to her to push the issue."

Rose frowned with confusion as the pair shared a long look with each other.

"We may have had something like that as well." Blake responded sheepishly.

"But you came back and we are so happy together and.." Yang rambled trying to lighten the mood as they entered the cafeteria "...oh look! Food!"

Rose realized she hit a sore spot. But now that they were in a crowded, and noisy, area it didn't seem like the proper time to apologize. Instead, she focused on her next task, one that she was always enthusiastic about, food.

While the cafeteria was mostly full, many students enjoying a rare day off by taking their time eating, they were all sitting and the line for food was almost completely clear. Following behind Yang and Blake, she grabbed a tray for herself. Pausing briefly, she grabbed a second tray. If this Weiss was anything like hers, she would be angry if she missed breakfast.

Quickly piling her own plate with plenty of waffles, nutella, strawberries, and chocolate milk, she grabbed slightly different foods for the missing heiress. Weiss always ate what she called a 'healthier diet'. Rose simply considered it less tasty, therefore less preferable. Snagging an apple, two plastic cups of blueberry yogurt, some toast, and cinnamon oatmeal, she placed those all on the second tray. Gingerly picking up both trays, she started back to where she had seen Blake and Yang disappear too.

Her ears twitched around as she slowly walked to the table the Bumbleby duo were sitting. She had almost missed it as she precariously balanced two full trays of food, but now she could hear it all around her.

She was attracting attention, and a lot of it. Most of it was quiet murmuring about who the new girl was, and how they had never seen a faunus like her before. Though, scattered around, she picked up several indecent comments about her looks, her outfit, her scars, or even blatant racism about her being a faunus. Scowling to herself, she made a quick beeline to the table.

"Awww, look at my lil' sis, all grown up and attracting attention." Yang smirked at Rose as she sat down. "Though I am a little jealous now you've become my competition."

"Competition? For what exactly?" The brunette asked back looking very perplexed.

Blake sighed. "Yang thinks she's the hottest girl in the school."

"What do you mean, 'thinks'?!" Yang shot back, exaggerating a look of betrayal. "I AM the hottest. Well, until Rose here showed up. She's like me, but with sexier scars."

"That's still weird." Rose's ears flattened against her head as she stared back at Yang. "And aren't you supposed to call your girlfriend the most attractive anyways?"

"Enh, whatever works." The brawler shrugged before shrinking back from Blake's glare. "I mean, Blake's definitely the most beautiful!"

"That's probably the best I'm ever going to get." The cat faunus replied flatly before turning her attention to a group of approaching people that looked awfully familiar to Rose.

"Hello!" Pyrrha chirped cheerfully as she and Jaune sat across the table from the black and yellow members of team RWBY. "How are you today Blake, Yang?"

"Fantastic!" Yang cheered back enthusiastically. Blake simply nodded, her mouth currently full of tuna benedict.

"Are you going to introduce us to your friend?" The gladiator turned her attention to Rose.

"Oh ya!" The blonde smirked. "This is Ru-Amaranth."

"Ramaranth? That's an odd name." Nora chimed in as she plopped down next to Pyrrha, closely followed by Ren.

"It's Amaranth." Rose cut in. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Nice to meet you too!" Pyrrha responded while Nora went to eating vigorously and Ren tried to slow her down.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?" Jaune gave her an inquiring look. "You look like a combination of Yang and Ruby. Are you related?"

"Yep!" Yang interjected, popping the 'p'. "She's the daughter of Ruby's mom's sister and Uncle Qrow. So my cousin!"

Both Pyrrha and Jaune both looked at her suspiciously as Ren spoke up, leaving Nora to her own devices. "No offense, Yang, but your Uncle doesn't seem the type to have a child."

"Well, funny story about that…" Rose lost focus on whatever excuse she was cooking up for the other four as she stared intently at them. They all seemed familiar in their own rights. And their names rang bells in her head but she couldn't figure out why. A few seconds, as the realization hit her, she burst out laughing.

"Errr…. What's so funny, Amaranth?" Jaune looked confused as the more stoic girl's outburst interrupted their conversation.

"You just all seem so familiar, that's all." She looked to Yang and Blake, who simply gave her a thumbs up and a silent nod respectively. "I just know you all, though just by different names. That's all."

"I don't think I follow."

Rose looked around before leaning forward and quietly explaining to them about where she was from and what little they knew about her situation.

"Oh, so you are Ruby. Just a different one?" Jaune questioned.

"That is correct." Rose nodded back.

"So where is our Ruby then?"

"I would assume she is in my reality."

"So what are we like?!" Nora finally jumped into the conversation now that she had finally finished wolfing down her massive pile of food she had sat down with.

"Well, to start off with, you all are the wrong gender." Rose grinned at the four of them. "You guys are team JPTR. Lead by the quiet, shy, clumsy, and surprisingly cute Jacalyn Arc, who was somehow partnered with the famous Niko Pyrrhus. Then you have Lily Ren, the badass ninja, and Tyr Valhol, the stoic and smiting god of war."

"Ooooh!" The short berserker seemed enthralled by Rose's words. "We sound so cool!"

"I think so too. Unfortunately, you are all humans in a mostly faunus kingdom, so you are commonly overlooked."

"It always does seem to exist in some form or another. How depressing." Yang sighed and rested her chin on one of her palms, elbow bracing on the table.

"So, that would explain why you introduced her as your cousin, but why Amaranth? Why not just call her Rose?" The redheaded gladiator inquired.

"I dunno. They rejected all of my suggestions." Yang looked downcast.

"You mean puns." Rose muttered back, eliciting a chuckle from Jaune and Nora. "It was actually Blake who had the suggestion."

"Ah, The Rose and the Amaranth." Pyrrha spoke back with a gleam in her eye. "It's a great fable."

"Nerds." Yang facepalmed.

"Hey." Blake responded indignantly. "You're the one that's forcing me to play D&D."

"Ehhh" Yang chuckled sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Pyrrha leaned forward and whisper something into Blake's ear. Rose almost missed it in the chatter that surrounded her, but barely managed to catch what the gladiator said.

"Amaranth is pretty cool, but Daisy is my favorite ninja."

Blake's astonished look was overlooked by everyone else as they all got back to eating and chatting until they were torn from their conversations as Rose's fork clattered to her plate. The wolf faunus looked dumbfounded. Following her gaze they saw what had captured her attention as four people setting their food down at the next table. Team CRDL.

"Uh, Amaranth." Jaune tried to get the faunus' attention as she got up and slowly walked around the table towards CRDL. "What are you doing?"

Completely zoned out and unable to hear Jaune's question, she walked right up to Cardin.

"C-cardin? You're alive?" Rose looked up as though she had seen a ghost. Throwing herself forward she embraced him tightly

"What the…" Cardin looked down in surprise. "Get off of me!"

The other three boys chuckled.

"I think the faunus likes you, Cardin." Sky taunted Rose as Dove grabbed the girl's cloak and yanked backwards, pulling the wolf faunus off of their leader.

"Hey, what do you think you guys are doing?" Rose demanded as she spun around to face Cardin's teammates.

Russel bent over laughing. "Look, the faunus thinks it can talk to us like it's our equal. What a fre-"

The rest of the boys sentence was cut off as Rose kicked him over clear over the table, crashing down like a sack of potatoes on the other side. Reaching under her cloak the faunus pulled out a cylindrical devices that expanding into a staff as tall as her.

Twirling the staff around Rose tried to leap over the table after Russel, she yelped in surprise as she froze in midair. "What the hell?!"

"That's enough, young lady." Rose twisted around as she heard a familiar voice. Near the head of the table that Blake, Yang, and JNPR were still sitting stood Glynda, flanked on either side by Ozpin and Weiss.

With a flick of her crop, she dropped Rose back on the side that she leapt from. "I need you to come with me to my office. You too, Mr Thrush.

"Glynda." Ozpin interjected, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "I don't think that will be necessary. It was just a little squabble between Mr Thrush and Miss…?

"Rose. Amaranth Rose." The faunus collapsed her weapon and tucked it back under her cloak.

"Rose, you say?"

"Yes, sir. I am Ruby Rose's cousin."

"Is that so?" Ozpin took a sip out of his mug and gave the girl a small smirk. "Well, Miss Rose. I apologize for interrupting you and Mr Thrush. I expect to see both of you in the dueling arena in two hours. Have a nice breakfast."

With that the headmaster left the cafeteria with his assistant hot at his heels.

"Ugh." Weiss sat down next to Rose with a very unlady-like huff, turning away from the faunus. "Not only is my hair still wet, but now you have made me miss breakfast too. All the lines are closed."

Sitting stock with her ears half tucked back due to Weiss' anger, Rose slowly slid the extra tray she had grabbed earlier over to the white-haired girl next to her. This Weiss may look like hers, but was a lot different attitude wise.

"This… this is for me?" Weiss looked surprisingly happy looking down at the food in front of her. "I take it this is your Weiss' favorite as well?"

"Of course!" Rose smiled back as her tail wagged slowly back and forth. "I figured that you would miss breakfast, and a grouchy Weiss is nothing fun to deal with."

"Excuse me?!" The heiress' expression dropped into one of displeasure, causing her Rose's tail to freeze in place.

"Hey, cut her a break, Ice Queen." Yang reached behind Rose and placed a hand on the belligerent girl's shoulder. "She did something nice for you. You could at least say 'thank you'."

"Sorry." The fencer looked down bashfully at her food. Rose thought she could see a small blush on her cheeks. "Thank you, Amaranth."

"No problem!" The faunus beamed at her companion, ears twitching.

"You know." Blake joined the conversation. "You didn't mention how you knew Team CRDL."

Rose looked down at her food for several long seconds, her hair falling in front of her obscuring her eyes from everyone else, before starting to speak.

"They were one of the teams in my class. Shining examples of how faunus could be tolerant and accepting of humans. They were great friends with my team, as well as JPTR. Cardin and I were particularly close." Rose took a deep breath. "Their first mission out as a team, they were helping a human village evacuate under the threat of attack by Mantle. All the panic attracted the Wights, who attacked en masse. He volunteered to be the last one out to make sure everyone else would survive. They never did find his body after that."

Pushing her tray away, the wolf faunus pulled her hood up over her head. All the memories were making her too emotional to eat.

"Sorry we asked." Yang pulled the distraught girl into a side hug.

"It's alright, you didn't know." Rose sat back up. "I do not like the idea of having to fight Russel, but then again, he is not the person I know. He actually seems to be the opposite."

"If by that, you mean a racist bigot, then yes, he is the opposite." Weiss added in from the other side.

"Then it will be my pleasure to beat him." Rose grinned to the rest of them and pulled her tray back to her.

* * *

"And let the match begin." Glynda announced.

Two hours later the nearly empty arena hosted 10 people. The observing members of both CRDL and RWBY sat in the front rows on opposite sides, while Glynda and Ozpin stood under the banners that displayed the fighters Aura's.

On the Arena floor stood Russel, with both of his swords at the ready. Opposite, and about 5 meters away, stood Rose, stock still except her tail which swished back and forth in anticipation. She had surprised everyone when she crystallized a glass looking warscythe blade at the end of her staff, giving her a 3 meter long polearm.

Letting her opponent make the first move Rose assumed a defensive stance. Deliberately leaving a small opening, she managed to bait Russel into charging her. As the boy reached hear and swung, Rose shifted the position of her warscythe, easily deflecting the blow and swung the blunt end around, smashing her opponent.

The strike, combined with his own unchecked momentum, caused Russel to go tumbling forward into a glyph. With a swift hand motion, the glyph activated, propelling the hapless boy back the way he came from. Jumping and twisting over her incoming target, Rose slashed down and raked her blade across his back, taking a healthy chunk out of Russel's Aura.

Learning from his previous mistake, the brunet approached more cautiously this time, raining blows from every direction. While Rose managed to block or parry every single strike, she was only able to make a few of her own attacks.

"Is it just me, or does it look like she is distracted by something?" Weiss asked her two teammates.

"Hmmm…" Yang glanced around the rest of the arena before pointing at the now empty side of the arena. "There! Look at the ground."

"Are those more glyphs?"

As the three girls studied the clear zone, they each noticed the slowly forming circle of small glyphs.

"What could she be up to?" Blake mused quietly.

As the circle was finally completed Rose raised her hand in the air, forming a glyph over her and her opponent. Momentarily distracted, she failed to block the next blow, a thrust that skimmed the side of the tall girl's face. As she stumbled backwards a large rock fell from the glyph in the air.

Diving backwards to avoid being brained, Russel was now left open to Rose's counterattacks. Pouncing on her opponent, the red and black haired girl rapidly twirled her staff, driving him backwards with a flurry of blows. While some of them made contact with his Aura, they only chipped small amounts away at a time.

Continuing to push Russel backwards, she guided him to the circle of glyphs still glowing faintly on the floor. Once they were a meter away, Rose feinted with an exaggerated low slash. Jumping over the blade, Russel smirked as he reached the apex of his leap, his opponent had left herself wide open.

Continuing off the momentum of the strike, Rose ducked down and spun around smashing the falling boy with the heel of her boot, hurling him backwards into the circle of glyphs.

Landing heavily, the glyphs activated. Each small glyph lanced out with a streak of lighting, rapidly draining Russel's Aura into the red zone.

"And Miss Rose is the victor of the match." Glynda spoke as the lights flashed back on. The banners indicating that Russel had fallen to 8%, while Rose still had about 61% of hers left. "Congratulations, young lady. Both you and Mr Thrush are free to go."

Professor Goodwitch strode out of the dueling arena with a clack of her heels, engrossed in what was on her scroll. The rest of RWBY and CRDL rushed to their respective teammates sides.

"That was amazing!" Yang ran up to Rose giving her a bone crushing hug, causing the other girl to yelp and tuck her ears back.

"Your coordination and precision are quite exceptional, maybe even as good as Pyrrha's. Though you don't seem to be quite as strong." Blake spoke as she tugged at the team's brawler, trying to get her to loosen her hold on Rose.

"Yeah, and your Semblance looks suspiciously similar to Weiss'." Yang narrowed her eyes at the other girl.

"I do not understand." Rose cocked her head to the side.

Weiss giggled at the faunus' expression. Despite being older and more mature, she could definitely imagine Rose's ears and confused expression on her Ruby. Though, as the taller girl's long hair shifted, she gasped as she noticed a trickle of blood run down the faunus' cheek.

"You're bleeding!" The heiress exclaimed. Pulling a handkerchief out of one of her pouches, she reached up and pressed against the side of Rose's face.

"Oh." Rose's ears flicked in annoyance. "He managed to strike me as I was using too much Aura to set up my trap and the blade managed to cut me a little. It is more embarrassing than threatening, but I didn't want to waste too much Dust in that fight. The cut should already be healed anyways."

"Wait, so not only do you have a weird Semblance, but your Aura doesn't always block incoming attacks?" Yang confronted the wolf faunus, crossing her arms over her chest. "This is all too different. Maybe if we had time to train together it would be fine, but I don't know if you should come out with us tomorrow."

Weiss could see Rose's ears and tail both droop at Yang's declaration. While the brawler may be justified in her comments, it was a little strange hearing her be so reasonable.

"I would have to disagree." Ozpin interrupted their conversation, leaning on his cane. "With skills like that, I see no reason to prevent Miss Rose from accompanying the three of you on your mission tomorrow. Though of course, Miss Belladonna will have to be the acting mission leader."

"Of course, Professor." Blake bowed slightly to the headmaster. "Come on, girls. We can talk about this tomorrow."

"Just remember, teamwork will be your most essential resource out there. Good luck, and come home safe." Ozpin smiled slightly and waved them a goodbye as the four girls retreated back to their dorm room.

* * *

"I can't believe Ozpin is letting you come on the mission with us tomorrow." Blake spoke over to Rose as she situated herself under the blankets of Yang's bed. The brawler was still absent, having gone last in the washroom.

"I can't believe he made Blake the leader of this mission." Weiss' bitter tone carried across the room. The heiress had meant to say it only loud enough for herself to hear, but in her anger she had spoken a little too loudly.

"I can't believe you've allowed Ruby to have a bed like this." The wolf faunus perched precariously on her Remnant Land version's bed. "There's nothing about this that says this a good idea."

"You know why, Weiss. This mission is directly related to the White Fang and I have the most experience with how they operate."

"Yeah." Yang's sudden interjection caused them all to turn and look at the blonde exiting the bathroom. "Plus, Ruby has already designated Blake as her second-in-command anyways."

"SHE WHAT?!" Weiss shriek caused both faunus to wince in pain and rush to cover their sensitive ears. While Blake was on Yang's more stable bunk, Rose was not so fortunate. Sitting up in surprise, the bed swung slightly causing the wolf to tumble backwards and spill off the side, landing heavily on her back with an 'oof'.

"Weiss!" Yang admonished the smaller girl as she rushed to Rose' side, looking down at the black-and-red haired girl with a look of concern."Are you alright?"

"Oooooow..." The faunus managed to groan and chuckle at the same time. As Yang helped Rose back up they turned back to their previous conversation.

"What do you mean I'm not the second in command?" The heiress demand of her teammates. "I'm Ruby's partner and the obvious choice!"

Yang facepalmed. "Don't take it too hard, Snowflake. I'm sure Ruby had her reasons."

"I did." Rose responded eyeing Ruby's still swaying bed suspiciously. "While my Weiss was a talented fighter and an educated tactician, she had very little real world experience at the time I had to make the decision. My Blake on the other hand had years of experience fighting against real enemies. It was the obvious choice at the time. I'm sure Ruby had similar reasons for her decision."

"Well there you go, Frosty! Not that you hear me complaining about how she didn't choose her own sister" Yang smirked at the shorter girl.

"I just… Ugh!" The fencer flopped down and pulled the covers over herself. "I'm going to bed."

"We should probably all get some sleep now. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day." Blake stretched and wiggled her ears, beckoning for Yang to join her.

"Yeah." Rose looked up at Ruby's bed before poking the still disgruntled Weiss. "I don't trust that bed, can I sleep down here with you again?"

Weiss stared at the faunus for a few seconds before responding. "No."

"Fine." Rose groused before realizing she probably shouldn't be sharing with her girlfriend's doppleganger anyways.

Turning off the lights, she carefully crawled up onto the death trap of a bed again and slipped under the covers.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

"Night."

A few moments passed before Weiss sighed. "Goodnight"

* * *

 **Poor Weiss, I don't think anything ever goes her way.**

 **So yeah, there are some differences between Remnant Land and Unity in terms of Semblances, Aura, and Dust.**

 **I'm so so so sorry this took so long to come out! Unfortunately I had a bad combination of more duties at work, busy season, Overwatch, Neptunia, running a D &D campaign, a marathon, and a particularly attractive Tumbleweed.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this! Let me know how it is! Hopefully the next chapter will be sooner!**


	4. A Scared New World

**Backed by popular demand, I give you the next chapter!***

 ***I actually was doing this chapter anyways.**

 **Also, RSBX is pronounced Rosebush.**

* * *

"Ungh." Ruby let out a groan as her eyes fluttered open. "What happened?"

The last thing she could remember was touching a mirror, then waking up on the floor. She could barely see anything in the room now. The light that she turned on must have burnt out while she was passed out. Unable to tell the time from light cues, she slowly sat up, rubbing her head, and checked her scroll for the time.

"1:46am?!" She had been gone for that long?

Opening the lock screen, she noticed she had no missed calls or text messages. Were her teammates not worried about her at all?

Trying to send a quick message to the rest of her team, she received an error. Apparently she wasn't getting any reception. Turning on the flashlight feature of her scroll Ruby slowly made her way out of the old antique shop.

Reaching the main room of the shop, she stopped. Shining the light about, she didn't remember the store being this demolished. Splintered furniture laid scattered around the room, a broken beam sagged from ceiling, causing the cloaked girl to wonder how she could have missed the damage. As she made her way through the debris littered floor, a small gleam caught her eye.

Crouching down, the girl picked up a small item on a thin chain. Sweeping off the dust with her thumb, she brought her scroll light closer and gasped in surprise. It was a silver apple pendant, the same pendant that she had spent a significant amount of time trying to find as a gift for Weiss.

Eagerly pocketing the necklace, she spun on her heel and started making her way towards the doorly. Before she could leave she sighed and looked back. Digging into her pouch she pulled out several Lien cards and tossed them into the rubble.

Content that she wasn't stealing, Ruby strolled out into the night, whistling a small tune. Checking her scroll again, she was baffled to see she still didn't have reception. She would either have to to make it all the way back to Beacon, or preferably borrow someone else's scroll to let them know she was alright.

The lack of people out confused her. This wasn't the first time she had been out about the town postmidnight, but even the small hours had a certain amount of hustle and bustle as the various nightshift workers that kept the kingdom running came and went, and the late night partiers stumbled to another bar. But all of that was missing, the cloaked girl couldn't see a single person.

Pulling her hood over her head and wrapping her cloak around herself for warmth, she picked up the pace. Jogging lightly down the street, she directed herself to the nearest airship terminal. Because students, instructors, and Hunters were constantly coming and going from the school at every hour, Beacon alway had airships on alert. So getting home wouldn't be a problem, it just would take awhile.

As she turned down another street, a pair of figures facing the opposite direction caught her eye.

"Oh, thank goodness." She mumbled to herself as she angled towards the duo.

"Excuse me, guardsmen!" She greeted them warmly and calmly, trying her best not to surprise the guards. "Can I borrow-"

Both guards whipped around to face her, training their rifles on her chest. "Halt! Stay right there!"

"Whoa! I'm not dangerous!" She squeaked out in surprise, waving her hands in front of her.

"Shut it!" One of the guardsmen commanded her. "Stop talking and slowly put your hands on your head."

Nervous about their reactions, and not wanting to cause problems, she slowly raised her arms and settled her hands on top of her hood.

"Sorry if I surprised you, but-"

"I said, shut up!" The guard commanded again, raising his voice a little. "You will only talk when I ask you a direct question, is that understood?"

She nodded back slowly.

"Check her." Turning to his companion he gave him a nod.

"Yes, sir."

As the second guard slowly approached her, weapon still raised, the first one addressed her again.

"Why are out past curfew?"

"Curfew? I don't understand. There is no curfew."

"Don't play games with me." He snarled at her. "Why are you out past curfew?"

As the first guard spoke the second guard finally reached her. Pulling her scythe out of its holster he reeled back slightly.

"She's a human!"

"What?!"

Reaching up the second guard ripped her hood off of her head. "No ears and no tail!"

"Don't move, human!" The first guard moved his aim from her chest to her head. "Cuff her, we'll take her down to the station. Call them so they can prepare a cell, they can interrogate her there."

* * *

A harsh buzzing filled the dorm room followed shortly by a series of groans. The harsh sound caused Weiss to fold her snow-white fox ear down against her head in an attempt to dampen the sound. Like every other day, the ex-heiress was unhappy about waking so early. Usually it wasn't by choice though, her partner, girlfriend, and bedmate was an incredibly early riser and Weiss herself was a light sleeper. The second Ruby would get for anything, she would be awoken and be unable to fall back asleep.

So being roused by the alarm clock was an almost alien experience for her. Feeling no immediate presence to her she stretched out, seeking the warmth of the taller girl. As the search came up empty, she opened her eyes and sat up. With no visible sign of Ruby present, the situation from last night hit her. Had her partner not returned at all last night?

Checking her comlink, she saw no missed calls or new messages. As she started to get worried she called out to her teammates.

"Blake, Yang, wake up!"

Frustrated by the lack of response, she mashed the 'dismiss' on her alarm and clambered out of bed. Unlike the twin beds that the other two team members slept on, her and Ruby's bed was much larger. In contrast to the strict rules they followed for just about everything else, the HUNTER program was very providing for those with intra-team relationships, almost to the point of encouraging intimacy between partners. It made sense in a way. The world they lived in was cruel and dangerous, and those with a more personal stake tended to fight harder than those without. A piece of logic the blonde and black-haired members of RSBX seemed to blatantly ignore. Just like their painfully obvious feelings for each other.

Walking to the nearest bed, she reached down and shook the shoulders of the only human member of their team.

"Wake up, Blake."

"Let go of me before I slit your throat." Amber eyes flashed open and narrowed into a glare.

"Not likely." Weiss scoffed at the black-haired human. "You're about as intimidating as a grumpy cat. Plus, I have Yang on my side."

"Sorry, Frosty. But if she kills you before 9am, I'm not waking up." A tired voice floated over from the last bed. "You're on your own for the next hour and a half."

"Would you wake up if I told you your sister is still missing?"

"What?!" Yang immediately shot up to a sitting position. Weiss briefly smirked at the girl's appearance. The blonde's normally luxurious mane of golden hair was so twisted and tangled that the fencer could barely even see the golden lion ears poking out.

Blake also reacted swiftly, though in a different manner. Rolling away from Weiss, she sprang out of bed, deftly landing on her feet. Staring the snow-haired girl down, she spoke in her natural monotone.

"What do you mean she isn't back?"

"She wasn't here this morning when I woke up, and I don't have any calls or messages from her."

"How do you know she just didn't leave early this morning?" Yang inquired as she worked on extricating herself from her sheets.

"You know your sister enough to know that she would've left a note or a message."

"She probably couldn't make it back before curfew and rented a hotel room."

"Then why didn't she message us?"

"Maybe her comlink is dead."

"She wakes up too early. She would have made it back by now."

"Hey." Blake interrupted the both of them. "Let's get breakfast. If Ruby isn't back by then, we'll go search for her. We're on alert anyways, so we need to know where she is."

"Yes, ma'am" Yang tossed Blake a play salute.

"Alright." Weiss sighed. "I'll wait until after breakfast.

* * *

"Are you sure it's ok for Weiss to go by herself?" Yang inquired to her laconic partner. The two of them heading down on of the main boulevards of Vale. "She seems really worried about Ruby and she can have quite the temper when agitated."

"Are you not worried about your sister?"

"Pssht. That's the great thing about being the little sister. She's the one that gets to worry about me."

The blonde smiled nervously as the human fixed her with a cold stare.

"Alright, alright. I am a little worried. But Ruby is a big girl, she can take care of herself. I'm seriously more worried about Weiss though. She barely ate anything for breakfast and kept stealing glances at her comlink."

"At least she's headed to a police station. I don't think she can get into any trouble there." Blake stopped in front of a door. "Here we are, Vale's CSC."

Yang sighed and pulled the door open. Their plan wasn't a particularly complex one. They would split into two teams and investigate the two nearest security centers. The first was one of Vale Police Department's substations. That would give them access to any police reports that might lead them to their missing leader. The second, the one that she and Blake were at, was Vale's City Security Center. Independent of VPD's system, the security center monitored the usage of an credentials inside the city, the only crossover between the two systems was if credentials were used in booking an arrestee, or if the offender reported their actual name. Despite the security center's name, it's biggest concern wasn't the protection of citizens, but tracking the movement of said citizens through the city to avoid conspiracies and unrest.

Making their way past the building's guards they approached the front desk, both with their ID credentials in hand.

"My name is Blake Belladonna and this is my partner Yang Xiao Long. As members of Beacon's HUNTER program we require access to your databases."

Despite her spiteful stare towards Blake, the receptionist, whom Yang had no doubt was actually a highly trained operative, took each of their credential cards and swiped them into her system.

"You may use terminal three over there." The woman handed their cards back to them. "But I'm keeping my eye on you, human."

While Blake walked past as though she hadn't heard anything, Yang threw the woman a dirty look before following after her partner. Sitting next to her human companion who was accessing the terminal she forced her anger back down. Nothing good could come of confronting a government official in an irate manner. At least when they graduated they would both be free of almost all restrictions, assuming they survived that long.

"Here's something." Blake's voice interrupted her thinking. "A person by the name of Ruby Rose was detained at VPD substation 7 under suspicion of espionage and conspiracy to commit terrorism."

"Isn't that the station Weiss went to?"

"Yes, but I doubt it is actually her. It says she was booked as a human."

"We should check it out. In the off chance it is her, we better get there before Weiss gets there. You've had to duel her before. We'd be lucky if there was a building left after she is done there"

The little color that existed on Blake's face drained away as she realized the implications of what Yang was saying. If Ruby was actually being held there, Weiss' temper was likely to flatten the entire building, as well as anyone that got in her way.

"We should get over there." The human logged out of the terminal and chased after her partner as Yang bolted out the door. "Yang! Wait for me!"

Sprinting across a small part of the city, they arrived at the substation Weiss had originally headed to. Instantly Yang could tell something was wrong, her ears twitching as faint, angry voices slipped through the doorway.

"Uh-oh" She whispered to Blake. "Weiss is really pissed."

"Good, they probably deserve it." Blake pushed past her blonde partner and entered the building.

"Here we go again." The lion faunus sighed and followed.

With the front room empty, they followed the yelling down the hallway and into the detention area. Lining three of the walls were small cells, only a few square meters each. All of the cells were empty except one. In the back right the door was closed with small girl wrapped in red sitting in the back, her face obscured by a hood. In front of the cell stood a very irate Weiss arguing with over half a dozen guardsmen, several of whom had weapons trained on the short fencer. Not without provocation however, as a layer of frost slowly spread from the ex-heiress, covering several cell and a great deal of the floor.

"That's enough." Yang shouted at the guards. "What's going on here."

Much to their credit, the officers kept their composure, though several showed their annoyance with the flick of an ear or tail. One of them, the senior officer if Yang were to warrant a guess, turned towards her and Blake.

"As we've tried explaining to Lieutenant Schnee, this girl is being held legally. She was out past curfew with no valid ID. And she is a human. However, Lieutenant Schnee is insisting the girl be release, which is something we can not do."

Ignoring the guardsmen, Blake crossed the room to where Weiss stood with her rapier drawn, glass blade at the ready, and other hand on her holstered revolver. Peering into the cell and seeing the small shaking mass of red-swathed girl, she turned to Weiss.

"Are you sure it's her?"

"Positive" Weiss responded without taking her eyes off the guardsmen.

"But... why is she human? And so small?"

"I'll explain later."

Blake paused for only a few second before turning back to the officers.

"Open the cell."

The senior officer snorted in derision. "I already told her that we can't do that. I'm really not looking to indulge in another human either."

Lunging forward, Yang grabbed the man by the lapel and slammed him into the wall, her tail twitching erratically. "We are huntresses-in-training. Our word is law as far as you are concerned. You will open the cell and let her go." Bringing her face in close to the man's her voice dropped into a threatening tone. "And if you ever insult my partner or my sister again, there won't be enough of your body left over for the Wraiths to eat."

"Alright!" The man gulped before signalling to one of his subordinates. "She's all yours. Just take her and get out of here."

As the cell opened, Yang was surprised to see the girl inside disappear in a swirl of rose petals, only to have a solid object crash solidly into her.

Clutching the small girl clinging to her she looked confusedly at Weiss.

"I'll explain later." Weiss looked almost nervous. "I'll meet you back at the dorms, I need to met with General Ozpin."

"Uh… Ok?" Yang watched the white-haired girl hurry from the building before looking down at the cloaked girl in her arms."

"Come on, Ruby." She gave her a squeeze. "Let's get home."

* * *

Now back in their room and dressed in casual clothing, Blake smirked as she looked at Ruby. Sitting on Weiss' bed and facing her and Yang, who were sitting on her own bed, the diminutive girl was sipping on hot chocolate and dressed in sweats. Turning down the offer to use Weiss' clothing, which would have fit her much better, the brunette had chosen to dress herself in 'her own' clothing, which was many sizes too big for her.

Especially swathed in oversized clothing, the girl looked at least several years younger than she was supposed to. Blake thought back to when she first met Ruby, when they were both 17. Even then, their leader was in the midst of a growth spurt. This Ruby had to be younger than that, which was impossible. Well, Ruby was also supposed to be a faunus as well.

"So… How are you… Ya know… Human?" Leave it to Yang to be upfront and blunt.

Looking up, she took a moment to admire the lion faunus' long blonde locks before focusing her attention on the other human in the room.

"I've always been human." Ruby looked back with a quizzical expression. Her trepidation from earlier in the day was gone. Once they had gotten back to the room she had literally fawned over her sister's lion ears and tail, and Blake's own lack of cat ears.

"No." Blake responded. "You're supposed to be a wolf faunus."

"What? I mean it would be soooo cool to be a wolf, but I've always been human." The young girl took another sip of her cocoa. "I don't get it. This has all been weird ever since I found that mirror."

"Mirror?"

"Yes." A fourth voice entered the conversation. Blake turned to see Weiss shutting the door behind her. "A mirror is responsible for this. It was that mirror that brought her here. This Ruby isn't ours. This Ruby is from a different world."

* * *

 **I would follow the finale up with 'dun dun dun' but we knew she was from Remnant Land and not Unity.**

 **As some of you have noticed, there are inconsistencies, some of them kind of subtle. These are intentional, and not me forgetting something(to the best of my knowledge). Sometimes they don't make sense, but they are there for a reason.**

 **As always, let me know how I'm doing. Fav, follow, or, most importantly, review. The Tumbleweed demands it.**


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